OBJECTIVESTo assess the effect of transrectal prostatic biopsy (TPB) on the concentrations of serum prostate specific antigen (PSA).

METHODSTwenty patients with abnormal PSA levels and/or digital rectal examination (DRE) underwent TPB. Serum PSA levels were measured before TPB and at 0.5 h, 1 week, 1 month after TPB, respectively.

RESULTSThe serum PSA levels before TPB and 0.5 h, 1 week, 1 month after TPB were (12.23 +/- 8.62), (34.90 +/- 41.53), (23.59 +/- 20.78) and (11.31 +/- 6.95) micrograms/L, respectively. The serum PSA concentration was significantly higher at 0.5 h after TPB than before (P < 0.05), and then gradually decreased. PSA levels remained higher for at least 1 week in 85% (17/20) patients(P < 0.05), then returned to the baseline at one month after TPB (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSTPB can lead to a dramatic increase of PSA in serum and keep the PSA value high in one week. Then the PSA in serum decreased gradully. Serum PSA level cannot return to baseline until one month after TPB.

Biopsy ; Humans ; Male ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood

Male ; Humans ; Prostate/pathology* ; Adenocarcinoma/pathology* ; Giant Cells/pathology*

Biopsy, Needle ; Humans ; Male ; Prostate ; pathology ; surgery ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate

Aged, 80 and over ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Prostate ; pathology ; Rectum ; pathology

Humans ; Male ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; classification ; diagnosis ; pathology

Although immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment and achieved remarkable success across many different cancer types, only a subset of patients shows meaningful clinical responses. In particular, advanced prostate cancer exhibits overwhelming de novo resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. This is primarily due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment of prostate cancer. Therefore, it is paramount to understand how prostate cancer cell-intrinsic mechanisms promote immune evasion and foster an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Here, we review recent findings that reveal the roles of the genetic alterations, androgen receptor signaling, cancer cell plasticity, and oncogenic pathways in shaping the immunosuppressive microenvironment and thereby driving immunotherapy resistance. Based on preclinical and clinical observations, a variety of therapeutic strategies are being developed that may illuminate new paths to enhance immunotherapy efficacy in prostate cancer.
Male ; Humans ; Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Prostate/pathology* ; Immunotherapy ; Tumor Microenvironment

OBJECTIVETo explore the possibility of injury to the striated urethral sphincter by incision to the anterior lobe region in transurethral prostatectomy.

METHODSWe incised the anterior lobe region of 60 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) undergoing transurethral prostatectomy. The patients were divided into four groups according to the incision fields: proximate superficial (group 1), proximate deep (group 2), distal superficial (group 3) and distal deep (group 4). The tissues taken from the anterior lobe region were subjected to HE staining, and the smooth and striated muscles were detected by immunohistochemical identification of smooth muscle actin (SMA) and myoglobin (MYO) in the tissues. The prostate volume, age, and PSA level of the patients were analyzed against their positive or negative results. The relative contents of the striated muscle were compared among groups 2, 3 and 4. The independent-sample between-group t-test was used for statistic analysis.

RESULTSThe urethral rhabdosphincter was found in the anterior lobe region, with the smooth muscle intermixed with the striated muscle. The incision injury of the urethral rhabdosphincter was associated with the prostate volume. Increased urethral rhabdosphincter was observed in the anterior lobe region, approaching the apex of the prostate and extending to the urethral lumen.

CONCLUSIONThe anterior lobe region should not be excessively incised in transurethral prostatectomy so as to avoid direct injury of the striated urethral sphincter, which is especially important for prostates of smaller volume or operation near the apex of the prostate.

Aged ; Histological Techniques ; Humans ; Male ; Prostate ; anatomy & histology ; pathology ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; pathology ; surgery ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; Urethra ; anatomy & histology ; pathology

OBJECTIVESTo investigate the pathoanatomize histological and biochemical characteristics of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by use of old dogs with spontaneous BPH as animal models.

METHODSOld dogs aged 6 to 13 years were recruited after anus check, B-ultrasonic examination by recta spy and measurement under surgical exploration. Ten dogs with notable prostatic hyperplasia were used as models, and 6 with non-hyperplasia prostate as control. Serum testosterone (T), estrogen (E2), ACP and prostatic specific antigen (PSA) were analyzed, and prostates were checked histologically.

RESULTSProstate volume of the BPH group was significantly bigger than those of the control group, (14.7 +/- 2.3) and (13.8 +/- 1.9) cm3 vs (8.4 +/- 1.0) and (8.4 +/- 1.9) cm3, P < 0.01. Serum T [(14.3 +/- 2.9) vs (16.4 +/- 4.0) nmol/L] and E2 [(137.6 +/- 70.8) vs (164.4 +/- 82.0) pmol/L] were not different between the two groups (P > 0.05). ACP of the BPH group was higher than that of the control group [(6.63 +/- 2.76) vs (4.92 +/- 2.19) U/L], but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). There was significant difference between the BPH group and the control group in PSA level [(5.6 +/- 0.78) vs (3.1 +/- 0.54) microgram/L, P < 0.01]. The tissue slides of the BPH prostates showed hyperplasia with raised height of epithelium, and many long and offsetting mammillae in the gland cavity due to epithelium hyperplasia.

CONCLUSIONOld dogs with spontaneous BPH are useful animal models for the etiological and pharmacological researches of human BPH.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dog Diseases ; pathology ; Dogs ; Male ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; pathology ; veterinary

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship of the histopathologic grade and extent of prostatic inflammation with the level of serum PSA in patients with type IV prostatitis.

METHODSWe performed transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy for 120 patients suspected of prostate cancer and included in this study only those with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatitis (n = 46), excluding the cases with prostate cancer and those with BPH but no prostatitis. We evaluated the relationship between prostatic inflammation and serum PSA levels based on the three-grade pathohistologic criteria for the extent, location and aggressiveness of prostatic inflammation. The serum tPSA levels, fPSA levels, % fPSA, and PSAD were compared among different groups.

RESULTSAs for the extent of inflammation, 35 of the 46 included cases were grade I (tPSA: [8.46 +/- 4.09] microg/L; fPSA: [1.75 +/- 0.93] microg/L; PSAD: 0.15 +/- 0.11), 7 were grade II (tPSA: [15.26 +/- 5.26] microg/L; fPSA: [2.54 +/- 0.72] microg/L; PSAD: 0.26 +/- 0.07) and 4 were grade III (tPSA: [21.05 +/- 7.58] microg/L; fPSA: [3. 19 +/- 1.13] microg/L; PSAD: 0.42 +/- 0.19), with statistically significant differences among the three groups in the levels of tPSA (P = 0.001), fPSA (P = 0.008) and PSAD (P < 0.001). Regarding the location of inflammation, 19 cases were grade I, 17 were grade II and 10 were grade II, with no significant differences in tPSA, fPSA and %fPSA among the three grades (P > 0.05). As for the aggressiveness of inflammation, 32 cases were grade I (tPSA: [8.37 +/- 4.07] microg/L; fPSA: [1.76 +/- 0.93] microg/L; PSAD: 0.14 +/- 0.11), 10 were grade II (tPSA: [13.30 +/- 5.69] microg/L; fPSA: [3.27 +/- 2.21] microg/L ; PSAD: 0.25 +/- 0.06) and 4 were grade III (tPSA: [21.05 +/- 7.58] microg/L; fPSA: [3.19 +/- 1.13] microg/L; PSAD: 0.42 +/- 0.19), with statistically significant differences among the three grades in the levels of tPSA (P = 0.002), fPSA (P = 0.024) and PSAD (P < 0.001). The extent of inflammation was positively correlated with the levels of tPSA (r = 0.6, P < 0.001), fPSA (r = 0.5, P = 0.001) and PSAD (r = 0.6, P < 0.001), and so was the aggressiveness of inflammation (tPSA: r = 0.5, P < 0.001; fPSA: r = 0.4, P = 0.008; PSAD: r = 0.7, P < 0.001), but a negative correlation was found between the aggressiveness of inflammation and %fPSA (r = -0.4, P = 0.013).

CONCLUSIONThe aggressiveness and extent of prostatic inflammation in asymptomatic prostatitis patients are significantly correlated with the level of serum PSA, which may help pathologists to avoid unnecessary repeated biopsies for patients with high-grade prostatitis.

Aged ; Biopsy ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; blood ; pathology ; Prostatitis ; blood ; pathology ; Serum

Clinical staging, Gleason score, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) have been accepted as factors for evaluating the prognosis of prostate cancer (PCa). With the in-depth study of iron metabolism and the development of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging technology, we used q-Dixon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the iron content of the PCa patients' lesions, and used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure the iron metabolism indicators in the patients' serum samples, combined with the patients' postoperative clinical data for analysis. We found that the serum indexes were correlated with the T2 star values, International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade, and pathological classification in PCa patients (all P < 0.001) but not in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients (all P > 0.05). The utilization of q-Dixon-based MRI and serum indexes allows the noninvasive measurement of iron content in prostate lesions and the assessment of differential iron metabolism between PCa and BPH, which may be helpful for evaluating the prognosis of PCa.
Male ; Humans ; Prostatic Hyperplasia/pathology* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Prostate/pathology* ; Neoplasm Grading ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Iron